Noah's Nautical Nest

We have a special treat today - we revisit Paige's beautiful nursery, now inhabited by her little brother, Noah. The wall color is the same as is most of the furniture, but their mom, Megan, cleverly changed the accent color and swapped in new accessories for her son. This is also a terrific example of a low-key theme room.

Name: NoahLocation: Westford, MA

My goal in the room design was to have the space feel bright, cheerful, happy, warm, boyish and welcoming. I decided to go with a nautical theme this time (with my second child, Noah...born a week ago!); whereas the original nursery didn't have a set theme.

I wrestled with the idea for a while because I didn't want the space to feel unoriginal or boring. So, I decided on the green and orange color palette to go with the Robin's Egg blue walls (that we kept from sister Paige's original room). I also decided to go with a more preppy look for the space; again trying to avoid obvious solutions. My original idea was to do lime green and navy blue together, but the navy just seemed so dark and moody. Thus, the orange came into play.

The first item I decided on was the roman shades. I chose a sort of preppy yachting stripe but in a lime green. I ordered the fabric and had them made. The rest of the room design evolved around those shades; since they are a focal point. I then chose the rust-orange striped rug to contrast the shades. I knew the patterns were very strong so I decided to go with solid colors for the crib, changing pad, and glider. Lastly, we chose the accessories that went on the walls to give it the nautical and preppy touches.

My husband Chris caught the Dolphin fish hanging over the crib in Bermuda 24 years ago. It's been hanging in his parents' house in his original bedroom so we reclaimed it and put it here. Don't worry, it's secured very tightly and expertly! We then found buoys, a life preserver, a ship steering wheel and a cool seagull hand-screenprinted poster by Wayne Pate. The green whale decal completes the look.

I tried to keep the accessories to the orange and green theme where possible. To add interest between the windows, I found some white wooden letters for Noah's initials at the craft store. I spray painted them with a glossy pumpkin orange color. I suppose they add a preppy factor to the space? I'm not very preppy so it's hard to say!

I needed a nightlight of some sort and I remembered my parents had a light-up globe for us kids while growing up. Luckily, they still had it stored away! It was just what I needed to fill the space in the corner under the whale to add some interest. At night, it adds a low peaceful glow. Perfect for feedings and diaper changes without being too bright!

I thought there was a lot of white going on in the space. I wanted to add a more nautical dark wood color here and there...evoking an old fashioned ship. The steering wheel was a start. So I added a dark basket hamper and found a matching magazine holder to use a trash can. The lamp and dark wooden base once belonged to Chris' beloved grandmother. I added a new shade and lined it with some green ribbon decorative tape (for interest).

The rocker/glider decision was tough. I wanted lime green. But most places didn't have one that was affordable to us. But I didn't want a neutral color like most chairs come in. So, we went with orange in an affordable style. I was disappointed to find, when the chair finally arrived, that the white piping it was supposed to have was also orange. Oh well. I didn't want to send it back and wait another 2 months for it to be fixed so we're living with a solid orange chair. No biggie, I suppose. Sigh. The white piping would have added that preppy edge I wanted. Hmph. I added a lime green pillow as another way to break up all that orange. It's a comfy spot for feeding, reading and snuggling and that's what I care about most after all.

So, that's the grand tour! I hope you like it! I love being in there. That middle-of-the-night feeding isn't so bad when I have such a cheerful and cozy space to look at.